Phubbing friends: Understanding face threats from, and responses to, friends’ cell phone usage through the lens of politeness theory

摘要

The study examined friends’ phubbing (i.e., the act of snubbing a relational partner by usinga cell phone in his/her presence), through the lens of politeness theory. Quantitative andqualitative data from 404 participants revealed that, although most accepted the behaviorand did not view it as a face-threatening act (FTA), others perceived it as face threatening,particularly of positive face, eliciting varied negative emotions. Specific behaviors such asrepeatedly looking at the phone or playing a game alone had the highest positive face-threatscores. Most chose not to respond to the FTA. Results indicated that increased perception ofthe behavior as face threatening was associated with higher reported likelihood of respondingwith politeness strategies, although no specific strategy emerged as the preferred response.